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NorthJersey.com
Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill Tuesday that sets aside nearly $29 million for 17 dam restoration and repair projects across New Jersey.
The bill (S-2594/A-3951) allocates funding for several key dam project loans, including a handful in Morris, Sussex and Passaic counties. Among them is a $4.7 million loan to the Lake Winona Civic Association in Jefferson Township, and multiple loans for dam projects in West Milford Township: $3 million to the Mount Glen Lakes Association, $350,000 to the Farm Crest Acres Association and $1.75 million to High Crest Lake Lodge, Inc., in two separate loans.
The bill is also set to fund a $3 million loan to Mountain Creek Resort for the Mountain Creek Lake Dam in Vernon Township and a $100,000 loan for the Lake Swannanoa Dam in Jefferson.
State Senator Anthony M. Bucco, a primary sponsor of the bill who represents residents in West Milford and parts of Morris County, said he was pleased that the projects would be moving forward.
"These critical dam repairs will preserve and protect our local environment, which is critical to our quality of life,” he said. “This funding will also protect the flow of clean drinking water to communities throughout the state, support recreational activities and provide habitats for fish and wildlife.”
The bill, approved by members of the state assembly in March, taps into funding generated from two bond acts: $22.4 million from the 2003 Dam, Lake, Stream, Flood Control, Water Resources and Wastewater Treatment Project Bond Act and $6.2 million from the 1992 Green Acres, Clean Water, Farmland and Historic Preservation Bond Act. Originally introduced in 2022, the bill was approved by members of the state senate in May 2024.
Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, another of the bill's primary sponsors from the state's northwest, said Tuesday that the legislation should have been moved through the state house much more quickly, with major storms like Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 demonstrating that dam safety can pose serious challenges in New Jersey.
“Sussex County is home to the most dams in New Jersey. We also have a large portion of dams that would cause significant destruction and economic losses if they were to fail,” Fantasia said. “Although New Jersey has been largely fortunate to be spared from catastrophic dam failures, even small failures can cause damage that come with hefty cleanup costs.”
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Dam Safety reports that the state is home to 1,730 regulated dams. Almost half are privately owned, many by lake associations that often rely on partnerships with local governments to secure loans for dam repairs, related projects and administrative costs.
New Jersey has about 11,300 waterbodies, according to state Department of Environmental Protection records. Roughly 1,900 are more than five acres in size and at least one meter deep and are classified as lakes by the state for monitoring purposes.
The vast majority of those lakes are artificial, man-made for everything from irrigation and recreation to milling and mining. It is estimated that the number of naturally occurring lakes in the state is between 60 and 70, according to state Department of Environmental Protection records. All those are found in the state's north, where glaciers last shaped the landscape around 21,000 years ago.
The funds from the 2003 bond act support 13 projects, including High Crest Lake Dam, Mount Glen Dam, Lake Winona Dam and several others across the state. The 1992 bond act will provide funding for four additional projects: Mountain Creek Lake Dam, Silver Lake Dam, Lake Garrison Dam and Swannanoa Lake Dam.